


To the Castle

by ficletsandthelike (schulia_jet)



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mute Link, Sick Character, Sickfic, sick Link
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 15:22:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14980007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schulia_jet/pseuds/ficletsandthelike
Summary: Link was determined to get to Zelda, but a seemingly mild cold had other plans.





	To the Castle

Link placed his newly bought arrows into his bag, giving a thankful smile to the shopkeeper.

“Have a good one, lad! And take a load off, wouldja? You’re looking a little worse for wear,” the man called. Link simply gave a reassuring wave and let the door swing shut. He was already a couple days behind schedule on his route to the castle, and any more dawdling for something as silly as a cold wouldn’t help.

Small children raced around Link, ignorant of the danger that lay ahead for the strange boy walking through their village. His movements were a little more sluggish than usual as he danced around them, but he pushed the dreary feeling aside, picturing an impatient Princess Zelda waiting for him. That alone was enough to spur Link into speeding up, quickly harnessing Epona, and with a firm pat setting off into the highlands.

Every jerk of the saddle sent a twinge down Link’s legs. The brush of the grass against his legs was even bothering him, and when his entire body began to ache just from his horse’s trotting, he finally gave in and found a small clearing of dirt to make camp. Epona whinnied, clearly confused at the early stop, but Link just fed her an apple and sat heavily on a rock, retrieving an apple for himself. 

He felt the radiating heat from his forehead and frowned; he didn’t have time to get sick, and neither did the princess. Once again, the image of Zelda appeared in his mind, scolding him for resting when he was less than a day from the castle. He sighed, stretched as far as his protesting limbs would allow, and tossed the apple core aside. He would keep moving and hopefully find some medicine in the next village.

Epona had just stepped onto the trail when the familiar snorts of hobgoblins came from beyond the hill to their left. Link urged his horse forward, but red ears peeked over the crest before they could pass. He heaved a sigh and pulled out his bow, cocking his only bomb arrow; at the faint light, the hobgoblins fully emerged from their attempt at stealth and ran with clubs swinging towards him. The arrow sent them blasting backwards, but more came from around the hill, and Link resorted to setting Epona to a sprint and turning around to face his foes.

Link had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from crying out. His legs gripped flank tightly, and every muscle begged for mercy as he took down the hobgoblins one by one. The battle took a couple of minutes at most, but it had felt like hours when Epona slowed to a gentle walk, sensing his distress. 

He felt a shiver run down his spine, and realized that he was freezing, despite the sun still casting bright beams of light across the countryside. Link almost rolled his eyes from exasperation, but decided against it for the sake of his already wavering balance. He focused on the road ahead, pressing Zelda’s smile over and over again into his thoughts. He would make it by nightfall, and everything would be fine.

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Everything was not fine. Black edged the corners of Link’s vision, and he was dangerously close to letting himself slip off the saddle and just passing out right then and there. His body couldn’t decide whether or not to be boiling hot or freezing cold, waves of one or the other crashing over him and leaving him shaking in a sheen of sweat. When Epona stopped suddenly, he let out a small whimper, praying it wasn’t more monsters. He looked up and nearly cried to see the familiar walls of Hyrule Castle. He had made it, just as the last star finished blinking into the night sky.

Link carefully got off Epona. Blinking hard, he fumbled her straps into some semblance of a knot and fed her another apple, promising oats as soon as he checked in with Zelda. He stumbled past the gate, leaning against the wall, and made his way to the throne room.

“Link!” At his entrance, the princess dashed over, sweeping him into a hug. “Oh, you’ve finally arrived, thank goodness! See, there was this debacle and…” As she stepped back, his vision doubled at the loss of support, and he staggered forward to try and regain balance. “Is something the matter? Link?!” The two Zeldas rushed to catch him, and he felt his eyes roll back in his head as the world spiraled into black.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“-and we’ll have to find some other way to handle the situation until he’s better.”

Link groaned as the ceiling came into focus. He was lying in a bed of some sorts, and he looked to his right to see Princess Zelda speaking quietly with a dignitary. At his rustling, she glanced over. 

“You’re awake!” She bid goodbye to the official and walked over, seating herself on the edge of the mattress. “How could you come in such a state? There are plenty of villages along the path that you could have stayed in until you were well; I was scared out of my wits when you fell like that!” Her gaze softened. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Try to get some rest, please. We’ve much to discuss, but not until you’re feeling better.”

Zelda hesitated for a moment, then brushed his hair back from his forehead. She let her hand linger for a moment, but seemed to change her mind and hurriedly stood up with a flush spreading across her cheeks. “I… have duties to attend to. Call if you need anything.” Link blinked confusedly as she rushed out of the room. Sleep tugged at his eyelids when he tried to think about it, and he decided that the princess’s odd behavior could wait until after he didn’t feel like he was hit by a guardian’s beam.


End file.
